Many scholarship and fellowship programs do not have age
restrictions, and there are no age restrictions on eligibility for
federal student financial aid. Older students should conduct a search
for aid just like younger students.

The
FastWeb scholarship database
includes more than 50 awards that
have a minimum age restriction of 30 years or older. There are more than
230 awards with a minimum age restriction of 25 years or older. There
are more than 1,800 awards with no age restrictions whatsoever.

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College Aid for Older Students

Although many schools restrict eligibility for the school's own financial aid programs to the first Bachelor's degree, some schools will waive the restrictions when the student is an adult returning to school to earn a second degree in preparation for a career change.

According to data from the 2007-08 National Postsecondary Student Aid
Study (NPSAS), nontraditional students are more likely to receive the
Pell Grant than traditional students, but less likely to receive
private scholarships.

Pursuing a Bachelor's Degree. Nontraditional students age 24-29
represent 13.8% of undergraduate students pursuing a Bachelor's
degree, but 20.9% of Pell Grant recipients and 4.7% of private
scholarship recipients. Nontraditional students age 30 and above
represent 14.4% of undergraduate students pursuing a Bachelor's
degree, but 17.2% of Pell Grant recipients and 4.8% of private
scholarship recipients.
Of nontraditional students pursuing a Bachelor's degree, 40.5% of
students age 24-29 and 32.0% of students age 30 and above receive the
Pell Grant, compared with 23.1% of traditional students. Of
nontraditional students pursuing a Bachelor's degree, 3.0% of students
age 24-29 and 2.9% of students age 30 and above receive private
scholarships, compared with 11.1% of traditional college students.

Pursuing a Certificate or Associate's Degree.
Nontraditional students age 24-29 represent 20.8% of undergraduate
students pursuing a Certificate or Associate's degree, but 25.3% of
Pell Grant recipients and 16.2% of private scholarship
recipients. Nontraditional students age 30 and above represent 29.1%
of undergraduate students pursuing a Certificate or Associate's
degree, but 27.8% of Pell Grant recipients and 27.6% of private
scholarship recipients. Of nontraditional students pursuing a
Certificate or Associate's degree, 37.0% of students age 24-29 and
29.0% of students age 30 and above receive the Pell Grant, compared
with 28.4% of traditional students. Of nontraditional students
pursuing a Certificate or Associate's degree, 2.2% of students age
24-29 and 2.6% of students age 30 and above receive private
scholarships, compared with 3.1% of traditional college students.

Nontraditional students are more likely to be pursuing a Certificate
or Associate's degree than traditional students, and less likely to be
pursuing a Bachelor's degree. A little more than a third (35.8%) of
nontraditional students are pursuing a Bachelor's degree, compared
with nearly three-fifths (58.6%) of traditional students.

Many colleges offer free tuition to senior citizens who wish to audit
classes and significantly reduced tuition for classes taken for
credit. The senior citizen must be a state resident and meet age
thresholds (usually 60+, 62+ or 65+). In some cases there may be
income limits (e.g., less than $15,000 in income during the previous
year). Free tuition for auditing classes is usually only on a
space-available basis. States which offer statewide tuition waivers
at public colleges include Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida,
Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan,
Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode
Island, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Washington DC. In
some cases the free tuition is only available at specific public
colleges or only at community colleges. Fees may or may not be
waived. The student must still buy his or her own textbooks.

People age 55 and older who volunteer may receive education awards of
up to $1,000 for 350 hours of volunteer service through the Edward
M. Kennedy Serve America Act. These awards may be used for the
volunteer's own education or transferred to a child, foster child or
grandchild.

There are, however, restrictions based on educational background. A
student who has already earned a bachelor's degree or first
professional degree is no longer considered an undergraduate student
and is ineligible for the Pell Grant. (There is an exception for
postbaccalaureate programs necessary for teacher certification or
licensing credentials as required by the state.) However, such a
student is still eligible for federal education loans and work-study.
See
Ask Kantro: What Types of Student Aid are Available for a Second Bachelors Degree?
on the Fastweb site for additional details.

Students who are age 24 or older as of December 31 of the award year
are considered automatically independent. Independent undergraduate
students are eligible for increased unsubsidized Stafford loan limits
-- an additional $4,000 per year during the freshman and sophomore
years and an additional $5,000 per year during the junior and later
years -- since their parents cannot borrow from the PLUS loan program.
This yields annual loan limits of $7,500 during the freshman year,
$8,500 during the sophomore year, and $10,500 during the junior and
later years. The aggregate limit increases by $23,000 for a total of
$46,000. Graduate and professional students are eligible for up to
$20,500 in Stafford loans per year, no more than $8,500 of which can
be subsidized. They are also eligible for the Grad PLUS loan.

Nontraditional students who will be quitting a job to go back to
school should ask the college financial aid office for a "professional
judgment" review to adjust the income from prior tax year income to
estimated award year income.

If you are currently employed, ask your employer's human resources
office about the availability of employer tuition assistance. About
7/8 of large employers provide some form of tuition assistance. Up to $5,250
in such assistance is excluded from gross income (in some cases
more). They may require you to keep working or agree to work for the
company for a set number of years after graduation. They may require
you to maintain a minimum GPA in order to get the assistance. Often
the assistance is provided as a reimbursement after the fact, so
you'll need to budget for your cash flow needs.

Unfortunately, many nontraditional students will find that the
colleges are less willing to adjust for other expenses, such as
married student housing, supporting a family or providing family
health insurance. This is why many families will have one spouse
working while the other is in school, and then switch off so that the
other spouse can earn a degree later.

Even though nontraditional students may be eligible for increased loan
limits, they should avoid overborrowing. Do not borrow more than your
expected starting salary after you graduate. It may be tempting to
borrow more for your living costs, but this will make it more
difficult for you to repay the debt after you graduate.

Business and Professional Women's Foundation
The Business and Professional Women's Foundation maintains a list of scholarships
and fellowships aimed at women age 25 and over, who are going back to school to
upgrade their career skills, train for a new career or re-enter the job market.
For more information or write to:
Scholarships
BPW Foundation
2012 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

Talbots Women's Scholarship Fund
The Talbots Charitable Foundation awards five $10,000 scholarships and
50 $1,000 scholarships to women seeking an undergraduate degree who
earned their high school diploma or GED at least 10 years ago.
The application deadline is January 15 or until the first 1,000
eligible applications have been received, whichever is earlier.

Displaced Homemakers Network
This organization assists women who were homemakers and now need to get a job
or go to school. For more information, call 1-202-467-6346.